At least 14 people are dead and scores more hurt, stranded, and desperate in the Tri-State region after the remnants of Hurricane Ida thrashed the mid-Atlantic on Wednesday night, bringing the floods and devastation Ida unleashed in Louisiana earlier this week to yet another major metropolitan area.
Ida, the second hurricane to hit the Northeast in as many weeks, is already being described as a "record breaking" event which, per newly instated New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), "only happens every 1,000 years." But while her attempt to highlight the significance and severity of the storm is understandable, her framing is, unfortunately, wildly inadequate. If anything, it's actually indicative of the sort of mindset that's brought us to this point in our intensifying climate catastrophe: one which looks at images of flooded streets and collapsed buildings and sees an exception to old norms, rather than the new rule.
